A LIFE SO CHANGED
Chapter Nine

After recovering from her second encounter with Cal, Sarah’s life seemed to turn back to normal. Well, as normal as it could get for a girl who experienced a supernatural encounter three days ago with the man who, for fifteen years, she thought was her father. But that was considered per usual for Sarah.

Sarah looped the same gold necklace around her neck, her hands trembling slightly with excitement as she tried to clasp it. She hoped that since she got her first kiss wearing it, maybe it would bring her more luck.

From her bedroom upstairs, she could hear a knock on the front door. She squealed and took a deep breath, then smoothed her skirt before going downstairs. She was more ready than she would ever be to go out with Joey.

She walked down the stairs, smiling. Joey smiled back and took her hand, lacing his fingers through hers.

"I’ll bring her back by midnight, Miss Dawson," Joey said. "Is that a good time?"

Rose nodded. "Yes. Just be safe."

"We will," Joey answered for both of them.

Once they were outside, things were silent between them. It was as if they didn’t need to talk. They just liked being in each other’s company, holding hands.

"I’m really glad you could join me," Joey said.

"No problem. It’s a beautiful night out," Sarah replied.

Then there was an awkward silence for a few moments.

"So…uh…tell me about your brother," Sarah said. "I mean, if you know much."

"Well, I haven’t even seen him or heard from him. I’m sure he’s having fun somewhere. Probably old Paree. My grandmother said he loved drawing, just like me. Says I’m the spitting image of him."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah, anything."

"Your brother...was his name Jack?"

"Yeah...yeah, it was. How did you know?"

"I just heard of a Jack Dawson that Rose met on the Titanic. She says you look very similar."

And act the same way. And you both have those piercing blue eyes...and dirty blond hair...and...

Joey grinned. "My grandmother said he would always do something like that. Said he lived for adventure. He’d die for it."

That’s not what he died for, she thought. He died for Rose. If he hadn’t died for her, Rose would be dead, and I would probably have to live with my grandmother, who doesn’t know I exist, in England.

"I feel that way, too, sometimes," Sarah said. "I love the thrill of it. Never knowing what’s going to happen next or why you’re doing it. You just know that deep down, it’ll lead you to something good."

"Yeah," Joey said. "Kind of like love."

*****

Sarah was sitting on a green blanket that blended in with the grass. She rested her head on Joey’s shoulder. In return, she felt an arm go around her shoulders, pulling her closer.

"When do the fireworks start?" she asked.

"Half an hour," Joey said. He pulled out his brown sketchbook and opened to a blank page.

"Those are amazing," she said, stopping him. She flipped to a page with an older woman with short, curly hair and soft features. "Who’s this?"

"That’s my grandmother. I did that one about a month ago. Can I draw you?"

She smiled. "Draw me? There’s nothing to draw."

"Yes, there is. There’s a Sarah just waiting to be put on paper. It’s not always physical properties that make a drawing great. You have to really capture the soul of the person. But the physical part is easy. You’re beautiful. An artist’s dream."

She blushed and looked down at the ground. Joey positioned her, crossing her legs ladylike on the ground, sitting up straight.

"Perfect," he said, backing up slightly. "Don’t move an inch. Now, don’t break eye contact with me."

Her gaze stayed gently on him, even though she felt herself blushing through about half of it.

"Sarah, it’s hard to draw a blushing girl," he teased.

"I’m not blushing," she denied. "I think it’s you that is."

"No, I’m not," he said, a small smile creeping upon his lips.

"I do believe you are, Mr. Artiste."

There was silence between them as Joey continued drawing her. It took the remaining half hour to finish the drawing. He handed the sketchbook to her. "I hope it’s acceptable for an upper class girl such as yourself."

He was the first person to really understand and capture the soul of Sarah Dawson. He showed her softness, but it also showed that she was independent and didn’t need someone to hold her hand and do everything for her.

"Joey...this is great," she said. "It’s absolutely amazing."

"Really? Thanks."

"No. Thank you."

She heard an explosion behind her and saw her shadow. She turned around and saw a firework sprinkling down into the dark waters of the harbor.

"I think it’s starting," she said, turning around.

He sat next to her, holding her hand. They sat in silence for a few minutes. Every time a firework went off, she jumped ever so slightly. She still wasn’t used to how loud they were.

"Sarah?" Joey asked.

She turned to look at him. "Yes?"

He swallowed, a tinge of fear in his eyes. "I love you."

She smiled, put a hand on his cheek, and kissed him on the lips. "I love you, too."

*****

"You’re becoming just like Rose."

Sarah turned around from Rose’s jewelry box and saw Cal standing by the doorframe. Rose was standing right next to her, so Sarah mouthed, "Later!"

"No, Sarah. I want an explanation now," he said sternly.

Sarah gently closed the jewelry box. "Good night, Rose. I’ll talk to you tomorrow."

Rose smiled. "Good night."

Sarah went into her room and closed the door behind her. "What?" she whispered.

"You’re becoming a little slut just like her," Cal said. "I thought I raised you better."

"Stay out of my business. Joey has nothing to do with the Titanic."

"He’s that gutter rat’s little brother, and he takes you out and--"

"Just shut up!" she hissed. "Look, what is it you’re stuck on earth for? You don’t belong here anymore. You need to cross over, and I can help you. You obviously need to say something to Rose or me. Or maybe both, in your case. It wouldn’t really surprise me."

Sarah stopped her rambling before it got worse. That was only greeted by a cold, hard stare from Cal’s dark brown eyes that sent chills through her.

"You can tell me," she said quietly. "You can...um..."

Truly, there were no benefits for Cal of crossing over except that Sarah would never have to see him again. She knew that if there was a hell, Cal would be a prime candidate for it.

"I can what, Sarah? Visit Jack and have a smoke and a brandy with him?"

Trying to stay calm, Sarah said in an even tone, "No, not necessarily. If you have family members or friends that died, I’m sure you can visit them."

"I’d rather try and find Mr. Dawson and talk to him about what he did to my Rose on the Titanic," he said under his breath.

"I don’t see why you hate him. He was a good person."

He chuckled. "You can’t say that until you’ve met him, now, can you, sweetpea?"

"Maybe I have."

He smiled. "You mean he’s alive? He’s not living with Rose? Ha! I knew it wouldn’t last--"

"No. He died for Rose. I helped him cross over--"

"Then why would I want to go to a so-called heaven if the gutter rat will be there?"

"Um…well, I don’t know. I haven’t been there. But Cal, really, tell me why you’re here. Do you see a bright light anywhere?"

There was no reply. The throbbing headache that Sarah got whenever Cal was around got worse. "Can you please just go? I’ll deal with you later. You give me a headache whenever you’re around me and it hurts immensely, so please...come back tomorrow?"

"So we can what? Go in a circle again? I’m not crossing over, Sarah. You’re battling with a Hockley. You don’t know what you’re going up against."

"Yes, I do. You seem to forget that I was your daughter at one point in life."

Silence.

"If I just say what’s holding me back, I can go?"

"Most likely. If it’s with me and I accept it."

She kept his gaze, something that was incredibly hard for anyone who knew him to do.

"Yes, Sarah, it’s partly you. I knew that you would find those adoption papers of yours sooner or later and find out that I’m not who you thought I was. Yes, I confess, I’m not your father. And you need to come to terms with that before I can...cross over, or whatever hogwash you call it. And I apologize for leading you on."

An apology from Caledon Hockley was rare. A genuine was even rarer. Unfortunately, Sarah knew that this wasn’t genuine, and she wasn’t buying it for a second. Without a doubt, she knew that this was why his soul was stuck on earth, but he wasn’t apologizing for not telling the truth all those years.

"I’m afraid I can’t," she said. "Someday I might be able to forgive you. Not now."

Sarah knew the consequences of what she said. He would be following her around until she finally just forgave him. And she was all right with that. Maybe it would force her to forgive him faster, anyway.

Chapter Ten
Stories